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How to enable remote connections in SQL Server 2008?

If you are facing the following error message -

A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server.The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 – Could not open a connection to SQL Server)

1. Allow remote connections to this server -

The first thing you need to check is, if Remote Connections are enabled on your SQL Server database. In SQL Server 2008, you can perfrom this by opening SQL Server 2008 Management Studio, connect to the server in question, right click the server and open the Server Properties.

Navigate to Connections and ensure that 'Allow remote connections to this server' is checked. Check if this solves the problem. If it does, here you go.

2. Protocols for MSSQLServer -

If you’re still running in issues let’s dig a bit deeper. The next good thing to check is the SQL Server Network Configuration. Open the SQL Server Configuration Manager, unfold the node SQL Server Network Configuration and select Protocols for MSSQLServer (or whatever the name of your SQL Server instance is).

Make sure that TCP/IP is enabled and try again. Even though I hope that this resolved your problems there might still be an issue with.

3. The Firewall -

If there is still no communication happening between your computer and the remote SQL Server you most likely need to configure your firewall settings. A good first step is to figure out which port is being used by TCP/IP (and which you need to open in your firewall). You can do this by right clicking TCP/IP and selecting Properties.

Click on the tab IP Addresses and voilà – Port 1433 it is That was easy enough and all there is left to do is to allow inbound TCP/IP traffic on Port 1433 in your firewall.

That’s it, success! From here you should be able to access your SQL Server remotely.